Bennirus Talanian
Sir Bennirus Talanian of Anvil, also known as the Hero of Kvatch, the Champion of Cyrodiil, and the Divine Crusader, is an Imperial knight, paladin and war hero who played an integral role in the Auroran and Oblivion crises, as well as stopping Emperor Gareth in the final days of the Holy Revolution. He is currently lord of the Castle of the Nine where he resides as Commander of Southern Cyrodiil, a position granted to him by High Chancellor Ocato after the defeat of Gareth. Early Life Bennirus was born in the city of Anvil on the Gold Coast of Cyrodiil. His parents were both priests of Dibella in the city's chapel and worked tirelessly to aid the city's poor and downtrodden, as well as to spread the good word of the Nine. Because of their benevolence, Bennirus had a happy childhood and was raised to be just like his parents. As a child, Bennirus was bustling with energy and ached to see the world. Because of this, he dreamed of one day joining the Imperial Legion and serving as a knight like the heroes he always heard of in tales and legends. His parents reluctantly granted him that wish and upon coming of age he joined up with the military. For ten years, Bennirus served as an Imperial solider and saw a great deal of Tamriel. However, the service wasn't quite what he expected: fighting, death and devastation were everywhere, and the young Imperial's outlook on life shifted dramatically. He became incredibly quiet and distressed, trying to block out the visions of the death he saw far too often. He eventually became a depressed alcoholic and was discharged from the Legion. Shortly after his discharge while in High Rock, word reached him that the Chapel of Dibella in Anvil had been desecrated with all of its priest and priestesses murdered. Heartbroken, Bennirus returned to his home a different man, now with countless emotional and physical scars. Auroran Crisis Pilgrimage Bennirus returned to Anvil a week after the attack to find his parents waiting to be buried in the undercroft. A small service was held, though it was interrupted by the ramblings of an apparently mad prophet that preached about the end times. The prophet was arrested and the service continued, and within a few hours all of the dead priests were buried. With little else to do besides drink his sorrows away, Bennirus decided to pay the Prophet a visit in the dungeon. There, he was told of the truth about the attack: Umaril the Unfeathered, an ancient Ayleid Sorcerer-King from the First Era, was returning to Tamriel with the intention of taking revenge on humanity for their role in the Alessian Slave Revolt. Skeptical but intrigued, Bennirus agreed to walk the Pilgrim's Way, a path of wayshrines dotted across Cyrodiil's landscape, in order to recieve a vision from the gods if he were to be deemed worthy. From there, he would be given the opportunity to quest for the lost relics of Pelinal Whitestrike, the Divine Crusader who originally struck down Umaril. Over the course of two weeks, Bennirus traversed the land seeking abandoned wayshrines and praying to the Nine Divines. His quest ended near Bravil, where upon reaching the ninth wayshrine, he was granted a vision from Pelinal Whitestrake himself. Pelinal expressed disbelief that one could possibly seek his old relics, but offered what little wisdom he could anyway by pointing Bennirus in the direction of his long lost shrine in a submerged Ayleid ruin. Quest for the Relics At the shrine, Bennirus found the skeleton of Sir Amiel and the deceased knight's journal detailing the quest for the relics by the original Knights of the Nine. On his body was a ring which would open the basement area of the Priory of the Nine, the abandoned home of the order, where the Cuirass of the Crusader could be found. Also in the shrine was the Helm of the Crusader, which Bennirus retrieved before leaving. Meanwhile at the abandoned Priory, Bennirus encountered the ghosts of several former Knights of the Nine who each challenged him to single combat in order to deem him worthy. Upon defeating all of them, Bennirus was judged to be honorable and was granted the privilege of wearing the cuirass. They also disclosed the locations of several other relics (the boots, gauntlets, mace and shield). Each one required a test of faith to obtain, which Bennirus passed without question. The final two relics - the greaves and the sword - were obtained when Bennirus returned to the Priory. A young squire named Lathon had arrived along with several other potential recruits seeking admittance into the newly restored order. All were granted entry and status as Knights of the Nine, and the priory itself was returned to its former glory. The Knights of the Nine were officially restored, but the sword - now desecrated by the fallen knight Ser Berich - still remained outside its grasp. Bennirus and Lathon departed for Underpall Cave (the sword's location), though the young squire did not survive the battle. Picking up the sword cursed Bennirus, who rushed to the city of Cheydinhal to remove the curse on the sword and himself. The divines granted him that favor, and he returned to the Priory once more with all of the relics in hand to prepare for the final battle against Umaril. The Blessing of Talos The Prophet who sent Bennirus on the Pilgrim's Way to begin with awaited him on his return to the Priory. There, he preached to the knights and spoke with Bennirus about the final relic: the Blessing of Talos. This gift from the ninth divine would grant the Crusader the ability to challenge Umaril in his physical and spiritual forms, effectively destroying the Sorcerer-King forever in a way that Pelinal could not. Umaril awaited the Knights in the Ayleid Ruin of Garlas Malatar on the coast of Anvil. Without hesitation, all of the knights of the nine traveled to the ruin in preparation for the final battle. Once there, they faced a deadly host of Aurorans. The knights distracted the daedra so that Bennirus could face Umaril alone. In the throne room, Umaril challenged Bennirus to single combat, which the young crusader happily accepted. The two fought for several minutes before Bennirus bested the Ayleid, allowing him to follow Umaril into the spirit realm. Far above the Imperial City, the two fought once more and with the gods watching over him, Bennirus cast Umaril down for good. The knights found the bodies of both Umaril and Bennirus, both of which appeared to be dead. They buried Bennirus in the Priory Undercroft along with the rest of the fallen knights. Days later, however, he would emerge after divine intervention from the Nine. The ghosts of the original Knights of the Nine thanked him for doing what they could not, and Sir Thedret would soon discover the Crusader alive and well. After a brief celebration, Bennirus proclaimed the Knights of the Nine restored to its former glory and pledged to serve the people of Tamriel in their time of need. Revelation Uriel's Last Request For two months, the Knights of the Nine worked in relative peace. They faced no external threats and spent most of their time performing charity and aiding those in need free of charge. Bennirus became known across Cyrodiil as a great hero and the Divine Crusader became a figure of legend almost equal to that of Pelinal Whitestrake. Moreover, the Knights were recognized by the Emperor himself as heroes for their role in the Auroran Crisis. Many new knights were recruited, and all appeared to be well. On the 27th of Last Seed, 3E 433, Emperor Uriel Septim and his heirs were assassinated in a well-orchestrated attack by a mysterious cult known as the Mythic Dawn. On the night of the assassination as he slept, Bennirus received a vision. In the dream, he saw the Imperial City in flames, along with dremora pouring out of strange portals and murdering innocents. The vision concluded by showing him the Imperial sewer system where, inside, he saw the dying Emperor who looked up at him and weakly declared "Jauffre, in Chorrol." Upon waking, Sir Thedret notified Bennirus that a visitor had arrived at the Priory: a knight of unknown origin named Sir Gareth. The knight wished to speak with Bennirus regarding the search for an Elder Scroll which he believed to be in the nearby Ayleid ruin of Nonungalo and thought the Divine Crusader would be interested in aiding him on this quest. Shrugging off the vision from the Emperor as a meaningless dream (mainly because he was unaware of the news at the time), he agreed to accompany Gareth to the site. Sir Gareth of Silvenar The two knights traveled through the Colovian Highlands together until they arrived at the abandoned fortress of Nonungalo. Inside, they encountered heavy resistance from a family of minotaurs that had taken over the ruin. After cutting their way through countless beasts, they arrived at the main chamber where Bennirus received yet another vision, this time from an ethereal woman claiming to be Al-Esh, or Saint Alessia. While walking through the chamber, Bennirus was suddenly paralyzed and his spirit temporarily left the mortal world to enter the spirit realm, the same place where he encountered Pelinal Whitestrake and defeated Umaril in single combat. There, Al-Esh gave him a cryptic warning regarding the enslavement of all free people and the rewriting of the Elder Scrolls. Though she gave no clues as to how such an event would happen, she warned Bennirus that only he could stop it. Shortly after, he drifted back into the mortal plane and found the Elder Scrolls with Sir Gareth. Though he was hesitant to trust the knight, Bennirus agreed to allow him to take the scroll to the Arcane University for further study. The pair departed and went their separate ways, with Bennirus going to the nearby city of Skingrad for food and rest. There, he found the people in an uproar and learned the news of Uriel Septim's death. Relating the news to his vision, he realized it was no mere dream but rather a message from the Emperor himself. After recalling the sewer grate he saw in the dream, Bennirus immediately mounted his horse and rode as fast as he could to the Imperial Isle. Notes * Most of Bennirus' story is adapted from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and its mods. These mods include Knights of the Nine: Revelation, Reclaiming Sancre Tor and Kvatch Rebuilt. * An alternate ending to Bennirus' story exists in which he succumbs to evil and falls from grace. It can be found here (Qurroll). Category:Males Category:Imperials Category:Knights of the Nine Category:Knights Category:Characters